1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to communication using electronic networks such as the Internet or cellular networks. More specifically, the present invention relates to a novel communication model that associates communications with an event using the Internet or cellular networks. More specifically still, the invention relates to a system and method for enabling a request for media associated with an event and coordinating responses thereto, and may be applicable to a number of fields and implementations.
2. Description of the Related Art
The standard systems of communication with electronic devices, including the Internet, cellular communications networks, etc., allow users to exchange with each other multiple forms of media, including text, audio, images, and video, among others. For instance, on a smart phone (i.e. iPhone®), an individual can communicate via multiple mediums such as instant message, phone call, email, picture, live video, etc. An individual can also communicate with more than one person at a time, such as via three-way calling, group chats, etc., to allow for group communication. In addition, an individual can broadcast information to many users over a variety of well-known platforms, such as Twitter®. These platforms allow information to flow from one to many.
These types of communication, however, do not allow an efficient way of requesting and aggregating specific media for an event. For instance, an individual absent from an event may want to know what is going on at the event. If the individual could make a call for media for the event to its attendees, they could communicate back with media, providing the user with more information about the event. Recent broadcast platforms and applications such as Twitter® are great tools for pushing information to the public. However, a system that allows the creation of a call for media for an event and automatically aggregates and associates the media to the event in a specific and customizable way might be beneficial in a large number of circumstances.
There are current systems that allow users to share live or recorded media with each other through portable electronic devices. The media that typically exist on these systems are initiated out of the user's own desire to capture the events occurring around the user. This media is generally self-initiated and is not automatically associated to the event that is being recorded or to other media that is being captured for the event. For instance, a user may want to take video of a family member's wedding and will utilize his/her smart phone or other Internet-connected or connectable device to record or share the event. However, there is a need for a convenient and flexible way for users to ask other users to capture media for an event or location and share this media for a specific event or location.
Event related media collection systems are currently known, such as those described in U.S. Published Patent Applications US2013/0130729 A1, US2013/0128038 A1, and US2013/0129232 A1. These applications, for example, tend to be highly location-dependent in their operation. For example, a user may be required to be within a certain geographic zone of a specific event in order to participate. In certain applications, however, it may be advantageous to have greater flexibility in defining an event or topic of interest regarding which media is desired. The known media collection systems also do not offer users a wide variety of definable media restrictions and do not limit media added to each collection based upon the restrictions, additional features that may also be useful in certain contexts. U.S. Published Patent Application US2011/0211534 A1 is also heavily location dependent and lacks flexibility with respect to media restrictions. Each of these applications lacks a variety of features that might be useful in certain contexts such as allowing anonymity among users, compensation for users that submit media, etc., creating a need for a more dynamic method and system that has these abilities.
Additional differences between known media collection systems and the novel communication system and method and associated features of the invention described herein will become apparent from a review of the current disclosure.